Nightfall
by Lt. Basil
Summary: The morning brought pain, noon death, evening fear. But what happens when the sun goes down? Does everything fall apart? Or are the day's wrongs finally righted? Whatever happens, the universe stops for no one. One-shot.


**A/N: This piece was partly inspired by Eregnar's poem, **_**The Wood Between the Worlds **_**for the Chronicles of Narnia, as well as a poem of my own, **_**You Will Never be Alone. **_**Eregnar's a really awesome writer, BTW. She doesn't have a lot of stories, but she's written some for Narnia and one for Star Wars that I really enjoyed. Also, she's got this rather amusing one for Megamind... :)**

**Come on, I'm allowed to brag about her! She's my sister! Literally! **

**Review, **_**por favor. **_

Nightfall

Every day comes in stages

.

Morning comes first, cool and crisp. This particular morning, three young students sit together on the side of a mountain, laughing energetically with each other. They are very young; the eldest boy is no older than eighteen, the youngest being closer to thirteen. There are two boys and a girl, all eager for life and the teachings that their mentor has in store for them.

That same morning, danger strikes the worlds. The trio goes their separate ways, each doing their own work to attempt to solve the problem. While the girl seeks to destroy the monster invaders, the older boy searches for another teacher's assistance, as well as a way to defeat his own inner demons. Meanwhile, the youngest boy chases after a dark figure and attempts to take it on.

The morning wears on. The teacher that the eldest boy had been searching for proves to be a master of darkness, the one who is responsible for all of the chaos that they have been fighting against so desperately. At his command, the oldest is overcome by his own darkness, dragging the female down with him. Similarly, the youngest boy is overwhelmed by the dark figure; his heart is damaged, and he is put to sleep. Their world is destroyed. Everything that once mattered to them is taken away.

.

By midmorning, another trio comes into the light. All three are mere children, each craving a life greater than the one that they currently possess. Their home, paradise to some, is a prison to them, and they want out. Together, they plan a way off of their island world; they build a raft, stock it with food, and get ready to sail away. Whimsical an idea as it is, they're determined to see it through.

It's supposed to work.

Then the storm hits. Destiny Islands is destroyed, and the children carried away in the wreckage. The girl loses her heart, and the older boy gives it his all to return it to her – even endangering the life of his closest friend. Even though the younger boy receives a new power and searches earnestly for those he lost, he cannot save his friend from himself. Yes, she gets her heart back... but only at the price of both of theirs.

He manages to com back, though, and... he tries to set his friend free, he really does. He defeats the one who enslaved him, and he saves the worlds from his tyranny, but his friend is not rescued. Instead, he is cast into the darkness, and the young one can only watch as one of the two who is dearest to him is locked away. Eventually, he himself is cast off, too.

.

By late morning, however, the boy is on his feet again. Again, he tries to find his lost friend, and in the process, passes into a world even darker than any of the others that he's been to before. The people there mess with his head; his memories are completely scrambled the further he advances into the cursed place. Two pity him, and one even chooses to get him out and put him to sleep so that she can reassemble his wrecked mind and reconnect it to his fragile heart.

.

The other goes home at noon, where someone close to him is eagerly waiting for him to return. The two boys hang out together, chat, laugh, and eat ice cream, not a care in the world. Another soon joins the two, and the three become inseparable. A team forms, a team bound together with love and comradery that no one can match up to, Somebody, Nobody or otherwise. It's the best that any one of them could ask for. The newcomer rouses to life from both boys, and the first boy begins to feel strange, new things as he draws closer and closer to both of them.

Then it happens.

She and he discover what she is; a puppet meant to steal the powers of another. Everything begins to crumble as she seeks to return the things that she's taken away, and try as he might, the boy cannot rescue her from her fate. She dies, and the other boy leaves, leaving the only remaining one alone in the dust, without even his memories of her for comfort.

.

Afternoon rolls around.

The one who left finally realizes the truth, about what he is, what his friend is, and what he must do. But he doesn't want to do it. He fights against it with all his might, but eventually, he has to give himself up to save the young midmorning boy. That boy awakens, and once again, he sets out to search for his friend. Meanwhile, the last of the noon trio searches for a way to bring his own friend back from within him, even planning to destroy him, if need be.

That boy fights on, defeating the noon boy's remaining comrades one by one. Still, the other tries to get his friend back, and keeps it up until the very last moment – the moment when he realizes that he can't get him back, no matter how badly he wants it. So he does the only remaining thing that he can do; he saves the other boy at the price of his own life, saving his friend in the process.

Using that sacrifice, the other boy brings down his enemies and finally is reunited with his friends. Things finally settle down. Maybe peace will finally come.

.

It's evening now. The midmorning trio now understands what they must do. The morning and noon ones can still be saved; one of them actually already has been. Hope is here; but at the same time, none of the have any way of knowing what's to come. There's a storm coming, and who knows if they will be able to survive it? It's never been more dangerous than it is now.

Night is fast approaching. As the sun begins to set, the four look to the horizon, each wondering what will happen when darkness falls. Will the others be saved? Or will every single one of them perish? What can possibly be done now, when everything seems so hopeless? How can the approaching night ever bring another peace-filled morning after the chaos that the day has brought with it? So much has happened, it has gotten so dark, and how will the sun ever manage to rise again?

The morning brought with it the deepest pain. By noon, death had become all too real. And now, in the evening, all that there is left is fear. What will the night bring? More of each? Will everything finally stop crumbling and choose to collapse? Or will the light break through at last?

What happens, though, they will keep on fighting. Nothing else can be done. If morning is to come, than the Guardians of Light must first survive beyond nightfall.

No matter how dark things can seem, the sun always rises, the world always spins, and time continues to pass on. The universe stops for no man – not even a master of the dark. So brave through the night. Morning is always to come.

**FINISHED**

**Wow. Did I even write this? I've never written something that I've enjoyed reading this much before. :D **

**Tell me what you think! Review!**


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